Life-saving device



- J. 6 J. MANDY LIFE SAVING DEVICE Filed Jan. 29, 1925 v V'INVENTOR; Xmas [VA/wax Patented June 7, 1927.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES MANDY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR F THIRTY-FIVE PER CENT TO LOUIS MANDY, OF -N Application filed January This lnvention relates to life saving devices and apparatus and; more particularly to a novel and improved construction adapted to be attached, tothe body of .theperson whereby he may lie-safely lowered to tlie mechanism in" the form of a wheel l4,"held' ground from a, high elevation in a building.

One of. the objects of myinvention is to. provide a novel and improved casinghaving a reel and brake mechanism for controlling an endless ,.flat band wound on said reel and adapted ,to beattached to a stationary ob-. iect within the building so that the .individ-. ual maylower himself to the ground in the same manner as if using a ropeorcabler Another object, of my invention is .to pro:

vide a ,life .savingapparatus.in. which the.

casing hasv attached theretoa body beltand a foot grip including a hand controlledbitake mechanism,constructed and. arranged on the casing so that the individual may regulate the sp edio'tdescenta I a1.

I accomplishthe aboveobjects and others which will be more fullyunderstood andnp-v prcciatedby those skilledin the art, particu: lar reference being made to the accompanyrm-same saves? EW YORK; 'N. 'Y.

.I.. 29, 1925. Serial No. 5,484.

" nected to the opposite 'endof' the band so that it may be attached .to a

nent object in the room. l V

On the shaft, there is provided a brake v securely by a transversely extending'bar ...sa1d bar being attached to the casing by @fastiening elements 16. Between the face 10 of the 'casing and the wheel 14, brakebands 17 are provided which act as friction bands lasthe said wheel rotates and-theweight of ]-the body' tends' to unwind the hand 11 quickly.

. The friction 'bands'17, are intended to act occasional inspections thereof; .the' I said ,14 to prevent the rapid descent of "a'perso n sefinred to the apparatus. This braking element acts automatically and without control ing drawings, showing an embodiment of bythe operator.

my invention, wherein:

life saving devicew fi- Figure 2 is a front View of. the apparatus showing the casing'and the brake controlled mechanism.

Figure 3 is a sectional view through the casing and brake showing the body belt.

Figure 4 is an enlarged sectional vlew of the casing showing the flat strip or reel.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, 5 designates the wall of a building and 6 the window frame or sash through which the individual may be lowered to the ground.

The mechanism proper consists of a casing or housing 7 preferably of metal. A central shaft 8 mounted in bearings and passing through the faces 9, 10, of the casing, has connected thereto a reel formed of a fiat band, preferably of metal and of a width, slightly less than the width of the casing, so that when the band is unwound, it will not become tangled or prevent the person from being lowered as would be the case if a rope or cable were used. One end of the band 11 is attached to the shaft 8 and the opposite end extends through an opening 12 Figure 1. is a view showingthense of the,

' around the wheel lt is again fastened as i A brake band 18 is secured to the casing as; shown at- 19 of Figure 2, and'passing ally'secured to the casing at 22. 1

Between the said brake band 18 and the wheel 14:, is another band which is se-' cured as shown at 30 and 36 to the chains 28 and 29, which are joined together and support a stirrup 27.

Now, referring to Figure 3 of the drawings; a strap 23 is secured to the face 9 of the casing by means of the snap hooks as shown at 24;, and to this strap is secured the belt 24, which is adjustable by means of buckles as shown at 25. A central support-- ing member 26 extends from front to rear of the said belt.

In operation; the belt 24 is secured around the body of the person wishing to descend, as shown in Figure 1 of the drawings; one foot is placed in the stirrup 27,

and the lever-21 is grasped in one hand. The person then eases himself over the window ledge and casts himself free. The automatic friction bands 17 will prevent any sudden momentum and the speed is controlled by applying the brake lever 21 to actuate the band 18. Now the said band 18 hook "or permaZ-L 70 as a permanentflbrakeand their pressure against the face'of the casing lOis regulated.

. by: the thumb nuts 31 and 32. 'When'the de= Vice isrtested before installingfand also at"" screws are adjusted'so that suflibient .fric- ;tion, will be applied on-revo'lv-ing the wheel acts by applying pressure through the intervening band 35 to thewheel let, and it may be seen that this action may be compounded by pressure on the stirrup 27 which would bring the said band 35 into direct action on the wheel 14-. Thus braking power may be applied by the use of the lever 21' alone, or by the stirrup alone; or by the combined action of the two elements, which gives great range and certainty of control.

The stirrup brake would be invaluable in the case of a person secured in the apparatus and having a child in his, or her arms; as the control could then be etlected by the foot braking element and the hand left entirely free.

It will be seen therefore, that in my invention I have provided an apparatus having a permanent acting braking element, and other braking elements which may be used independently, or compounded at the will of the user; and all interdependent on certain elements of the said brake structure.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is V 1. In an apparatus of the class described. in combination with a suitable casing and supporting elements therefor, a'wheel member mounted on a central shaft, friction bands between the inner face of the said Wheel, and the said casing, and means to adjust the said wheel to exert a permanent pressure on the said bands, an inwardly disposed rim on the said wheel which acts to retain the said bands in position and also serves to present a frictional bearing surface, a brake band which partially encircles same, and another brake band resting over the first mentioned brake band, and means to apply a pressure to the said brake bands.

2. In an apparatus of the class described, the combination with a reel and easing havin suitable supporting means therefor and a body belt thereon, of a triple compound braking apparatus including a recessed wheel mounted on the shaft of the said reel and having frictional members between its body portion and the said casing, a transverse bar adjustably secured to the said casing and bearing against the central portion of the said wheel, and a peripheral rim on the said wheel and a brake band resting thereon, and a stirrup suspended from the said brake band, and another band secured to the said casing and resting upon the surat'ace oi the band first mentioned, and an actuating lever secured to the said last mentioned band.

3. In an apparatus of the class described,

the combination with a'reel element supported within a suitable casing and having a suspension strip secured thereto, of a braking mechanism comprising a wheel mounted on the shaft of the said reel, friction rings between the said wheel and the casing of the reel element, andmeans to act just the said wheel to exert a permanent pressure on the said rings, and a peripheral rim on the said wheel and a foot actuated brake band thereon, and another brake band secured to the aforesaid casing and resting uponthe said foot brake band, and a lever connected to the second mentioned band substantially as shown and described;

Signed at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York,th is 14th day of January A. D. 1925.

JAMES MANDY, 

